Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1887-02-18
From Drummer's Note Book ]

to engage him in conversation,
finally picked up a paper and left
him to his own reflections.
Suddenly Tom turned to me and
said:
"Don, | believe you have the rep
utatlon of keeping things to your
self, haven't you ~
told him | generally kept every
thing l could get.
"Well, I'm going to tell you about
the blamedest, most contemplate
piece of meanness you ever heard
OF in your life"
l assumed the proper air of at
tention, and he continued :
"KnOw Jack Duvalp
"Oh, yes; know him well. Pret'
ty sharp fellow. Same line of bust.
ness as yourself-travels for a rival
house, don't he ~
"Exactly-and if | ever lay eyes
on his confounded image again he's
going to be a total wreck, and don't
you forget it. You see, Jack and
missed the Il. train in Cincinnati |
last night--came over on the 0. &
NJ. to North Vernon. Got there
about II. First train to Louisville
4 o'clock in the morning. Several
of the boys were with us. All went
over to the hotel. Concluded it
want worth while to go to bed, so
we got around the stove and began
telling yarns, and each fellow had
to set 'em up when he told his tale.
1t followed that cocktails were a
trihe more numerous than tunnels
on the B. & o. Well, we sat there
trying to outlie each other till train
time, and | got sleepy as thunder,
and Jack took me by the arm and
we hustled out for the depot. We
got aboard and | took a seat by the
fire. Jack said he was going into
the smoking.car, and | mumbled
out something or other and went
to sleep.
"When | woke up it was broad
daylight, and | looked around. I'll
be hanged if wasn't the only man
in the car. 1t struck me as being
a curious kind of coach, anyhow.
Down in the back end they had a
partition built across, with hole
cut IN it, for all the world like a
ticket.Oflice. thought maybe we
had stopped at a station somewhere,
so | walked on down to investigate
the ticket.ofllce. poked my head
in the hole. A dull.looking chap
was sitting there about half asleep.
"'Hello,' sez /.
"Hello, YOURSELF sez he.
"'Pretty near Louisville, amt
weY
"sWhOP
sWe-all of u.s.
"tAIl of us schatP
Pretty near Louisville
"'Well, 20; | can't say we air.
"'Why, we ought to be nearly
there by this time
"'Are you goin' to Louisville?
eyes
""Fraid you'll have to wait some
time.'
J "'What's the matter-accident 2
, "'What accidentP
"'Anything happened to the
trainp
"'What train p
"'Why, this train. Why amt
; we moving alongi Where are we,
anyhow
Then the damphool laughed.
"Stranger," sez he, 81 just begin
ter understand you. This amt no
train at all. and we air IN North
Vernon. You see, our depot burnt
ND some time back, and we rugged
up an old Pullman till We could
. manage to"
81 didn't wait to hear any more,
The whole thing dawned on me
like a mild stroke of paralysis
There | had been sitting like a stall
fed idiot in that depot coach, while
Jack DuYal, who knew all about it.
had pulled out tor Louisville.
: never got here till this evening
, aud it didn't take me long to find
out that he'd sold every blame hard
a ware man in town and skipped"
"NOw, Don, that's what | call
low.dOwn, dirty trick, and that's
T what | mean when | say. or | sing
8 that il / ever get my hands on JacI
: Duval, his own mother won't recog
nize him when Rnish.'-DoN
RUpp. in Richmond Wing.